4. K may want to appease Duke fans (including himself)
It has become obvious that Mike Krzyzewski did not need to grow up on Tobacco Road or attend the private university in Durham to later become a diehard Dukie for life. In fact, one could argue he is now the world’s all-time No. 1 Blue Devil fanatic. Would you dare challenge Coach K in a game of Duke basketball trivia?
Yes, he’s counterpunched the Duke basketball fanbase after it has taken jabs at his players (the “hero ball” incident involving R.J. Barrett and the last minute against Gonzaga comes to mind). But when it comes to thinking about delivering what would be a knockout blow to his fellow fans — a retirement announcement — one might imagine Coach K is a softie who will avoid such a teary moment at all cost.
And don’t forget that pretty much his entire bloodline — including one of his freshman walk-ons, grandson Michael Savarino — appears to fit the “Duke basketball junkie” description. Plus, 40 years in, with a heart that now likely wouldn’t know how to care less about game outcomes for Blue Devils, Coach K may feel pressure coming from within his own inner fandom to keep the Duke basketball kingdom in a state of prosperity the only way he knows how: by overseeing it himself.
Time to move on with another key reason Coach K may never in his lifetime move on from Duke…